11 minute read
Lots to do in London!
A sprinkling of activities for families visiting London this summer…
Why come to London with your family this summer? Well, it is not just the recent Queen’s Jubilee celebrations that makes it one of the global hot spots!
London remains an international centre of commerce and attraction to tourists from all over the world. There are so many experiences and many of them are stemmed in the unique history and culture that it has built up from Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament to the stunning River Thames and Southbank. Many museums are free and transport is easy either on a traditional red bus or the tube system - walking and cycling are also easily accessible!
If you want a birds eye view then why not take a ride on the London Eye and see some of the most famous landmarks as you rotate over the River Thames in a personal capsule? Or, of course, there is the Tower of London and you can absorb the 900 year history of it being a royal palace, prison and place of execution - even visited in the David Walliams’ book Gangsta Granny, when she tries to steal the Crown Jewels! If you like the rich and famous then Madame Tussauds is the place to go and see many famous faces including: Shakespeare, Usain Bolt, Lady Gaga and even the Queen. Another family favourite is the Warner Bros Studio tour
of The Making of Harry Potter
and you can experience some of the films’ locations and even Hagrid’s hut!
ART GALLERIES INCLUDE:
Dulwich Picture Gallery
Head to pretty Dulwich in south London, where you’ll find works by the likes of Rembrandt, Gainsborough and Canaletto at Dulwich Picture Gallery. Alongside its collection of Baroque masterpieces, England’s first purpose-built gallery hosts regular exhibitions spanning many art movements and mediums.
www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk
The Hayward Gallery
Housed within the brutalist Southbank Centre, the Hayward Gallery is one of London’s leading contemporary art galleries. Be captivated by boundary-pushing and thought-provoking shows from some of the world’s most adventurous artists, as part of the year-long programme of exhibitions.
www.southbankcentre.co.uk/venues/ hayward-gallery
The National Gallery
Home to one of the greatest collections of paintings in the world, The National Gallery contains a “who’s who” of art icons – from Titian and Turner to Van Dyck and Van Gogh. This iconic gallery on Trafalgar Square also features blockbuster exhibitions: past shows have included Gauguin Portraits, Monet and Architecture.
www.nationalgallery.org.uk
The Royal Academy of Arts
Walk through the gates off Piccadilly to the Annenberg Courtyard and into the Royal Academy of Arts. Founded in 1768, it’s home to an ever-changing programme of exciting blockbuster exhibitions. Highlights include Queen Victoria’s paintbox and the only Michelangelo sculpture in the UK.
www.royalacademy.org.uk
Saatchi Gallery
Chelsea’s Saatchi Gallery is all about contemporary art, with work by young artists or international artists rarely exhibited in the UK. It will be renamed the Museum of Contemporary Art, London upon the retirement of owner Charles Saatchi, who has donated the gallery’s collection to the nation.
www.saatchigallery.com
Serpentine Galleries
Small but perfectly formed, the Serpentine Galleries sit in the middle of Hyde Park. The galleries’ free exhibitions showcase international modern and contemporary art by world-famous artists such as Andy Warhol and Chris Ofili. In summer, don’t miss the annual architectural pavilion commission.
www.serpentinegalleries.org
Whitechapel Gallery
The Whitechapel Gallery champions contemporary art. Founded in 1901 to bring art to the people of east London, it is now internationally acclaimed for its exhibitions, education and event programmes. In the past, the gallery premiered artists such as Frida Kahlo, Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko.
www.whitechapelgallery.org
Tate Britain
From Pre-Raphaelite paintings to landscapes by Turner and Francis Bacon’s distorted nudes, there’s lots to look at in Tate Britain. The gallery is home to the largest collection of British art in the world. Eat at the gallery’s restaurant and study the famous Rex Whistler mural between mouthfuls!
www.tate.org.uk/visit/tatebritain
The Tate Boat
(decorated with Damien Hirst dots) runs up and down the Thames between Tate Modern and Tate Britain every 30 minutes during gallery opening hours. Just tap in and out with an Oyster or contactless card as you would on the tube or bus.
Tate Modern
Sitting grandly on the banks of the Thames is Tate Modern. Britain’s national museum of modern and contemporary art has a unique design due to the building’s previous life as a power station. Inside, you’ll find temporary exhibitions by top artists from Damien Hirst to Gauguin and restaurants offering fabulous views across the city.
www.tate.org.uk
MUSEUMS INCLUDE:
The British Museum
One of the county’s most famous institutions, dedicated to human history, art and culture. There’s so much to see at the British Museum –Parthenon sculptures, Lewis Chessmen, The Rosetta Stone. The world-famous Egyptian stone, the key to deciphering the hieroglyphs, is the most sought out item in the collection. If you think you’ve done it all, delve deeper by looking out for new acquisitions, or pop into one of the museum’s temporary exhibitions.
www.britishmuseum.org
Horniman Museum
An ethnographic and anthropological museum, opened by tea trader John Horniman in 1902, which is known for its taxidermied animals, among (many) other things. Unlike a lot of museums, this south London gem allows visitors close contact with many of the artefacts displayed (some can even be held or tried on). Aside from impressive anthropology and natural history collections, the museum also has a pretty garden, and hosts events ranging from crazy golf to farmers’
markets. www.horniman.ac.uk
Natural History Museum
A home to a rather impressive 80 million plant, animal, fossil, rock and mineral specimens. This South Kensington museum, which is also a world-class research institution, is full of wonders. You come faceto-face with animatronic dinosaurs, a man-sized model of a foetus, a dodo, a giant sequoia tree, an earthquake simulator and glow-in-the-dark crystals. There is even a great big blue whale skeleton, which hangs from the ceiling of the Hintze Hall and goes after the name ‘Hope’.
www.nhm.ac.uk
The Imperial War Museum
London’s Imperial War Museum was founded in 1917 with the intention of documenting Britain’s participation in the First World War. It’s now a powerful look at conflicts both past and present. The IWM’s First World War Galleries examine the politics and legacy of the 1914-1918 conflict, but also day-today life in the trenches. In photographs, artefacts like tins of food and a collection of letters (many from soldiers who never came back), the museum tells a powerful story. There’s also the Holocaust Exhibition, featuring personal stories, incredibly moving testimony, clothes and artefacts from the death camps of Europe (not suitable for under-14s).
www.iwm.org.uk
V&A Museum
The V&A is the world’s leading museum of art and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.3 million objects that span over 5,000 years of human creativity. The Museum holds many of the UK’s national collections and houses some of the greatest resources for the study of architecture, furniture, fashion, textiles, photography, sculpture, painting, jewellery, glass, ceramics, book arts, Asian art and design, theatre and performance.
www.vam.ac.uk
Science Museum
Founded in 1857, the Science Museum is one of London’s largest tourist attractions, and one of the world’s major museums. From daytime play for little ones to lates for geeky grownups, the Science Museum is a happily noisy home of scientific discovery that’s free to visit for one and all. Head to Wonderlab: The Equinor Gallery, a state-of-the-art seven-zone area of the museum that’s ticketed, allowing you to see live experiments and shows away from the crowds, or Space Descent, an immersive VR trip through the cosmos with British astronaut Tim Peake as your guide.
www.sciencemuseum.org.uk
The Shard
Western Europe’s tallest building and London’s one and only 95-storey skyscraper, so it’s certainly not to be sniffed at. Despite only being a few years old, The Shard has become a celebrated addition to London’s iconic skyline. There are bars and restaurants all the way up, but at public visiting area The View from The Shard, the tower boasts floor-toceiling windows with amazing views. You can peer out over the city at 244 metres above ground level.
www.the-shard.com
Southbank Centre
The Southbank Centre is made up of multiple venues hosting some of London’s most sought-after events.
www.southbankcentre.co.uk
St Paul’s Cathedral
The Grade I-listed St Paul’s Cathedral is one of the most famous buildings in Britain and an iconic feature of the London skyline. Sir Christopher Wren’s baroque beast is a marvel to look at, with an enormous dome and gorgeous interiors, but it actually still operates as a working church. Do visit the Whispering Gallery. That’s the indoor balcony at the base of the dome, where the acoustics of the cathedral’s architecture create a bizarre aural phenomenon.
www.stpauls.co.uk
Chinatown
Sandwiched between Soho and the renowned theatreland, Chinatown is one of London’s foodie gems. There are bilingual street signs, colourful pagodas, lion statues and grand red-and-gold gates welcoming you to an area packed with restaurants and shops.
www.chinatown.co.uk
Cutty Sark
The world’s last surviving tea clipper, Cutty Sark was once the fastest ship of her age. That was over a century ago now, but she is still a spectacular sight, perched on her glass pedestal at the Thames’s edge in Greenwich.
www.rmg.co.uk/cutty-sark
Shakespeare’s Globe
A reconstruction of William Shakespeare’s circular theatre, which was destroyed by a fire, situated a few hundred yards from its original site. It’s the closest you’ll ever get to experiencing the Bard’s plays as his Elizabethan audience did. To stand or not to stand, that is the question. In the era of Mr. Shakespeare himself, many theatregoers would stay on their feet when watching a play.
www.shakespearesglobe.com
Borough Market
Dating back to the thirteenth century, London’s oldest food market is a cornucopia of gourmet goodies - your go-to for artisanal finds. It used to highlight British produce but nowadays you’ll find global traders and street-food vendors: enjoy French confit-duck sandwiches, Ethiopian stews and scotch eggs.
www.boroughmarket.org.uk
Hampstead Heath Ponds
With men’s, women’s and mixed ponds, there’s nowhere better – or more picturesque (the ponds are a short walk from Parliament Hill, with views over the city skyline) – to cool off on scorching London days. The mixed pond is members-only and not lifeguarded in winter. Competent swimmers aged eightplus are allowed. Just jump right in: there’s no shallow end!
www.hampsteadheath.net/swimming-ponds
Richmond Park
This former royal hunting ground has changed little over the centuries, but modern-day visitors are more likely to be wielding a kite than a bow and arrow. Look out for wild red and fallow deer but be sure to keep your distance (especially during autumn’s rutting season). Visit the Isabella Plantation for swathes of blossom in spring and summer. Rent a bike to really get to see the whole park.
Hampton Court Palace
A grand Tudor palace that Henry VIII ‘acquired’ from Cardinal Wolsey. It was later home to royal Stuarts and Georgians too, who all left their mark on the palace. You can stand in the very rooms where history was made. Wander down the corridor where Catherine Howard was dragged screaming, see how George I’s chocolatier prepared the king’s favourite tipple and even glimpse King Charles II’s royal toilet! There are also stunning gardens and the UK’s oldest surviving hedge maze.
www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/#gs.2fka8e
Kew Gardens
This world-leading botanic garden is captivating any time of year. It is well worth visiting the newly restored Temperate House is a horticulturalist’s delight, home to encephalartos woodii, one of the rarest plants in the world, that outlived the dinosaurs.
www.kew.org
Crystal Palace Park
This south-east London park was once the grounds of an enormous glass exhibition hall known as The Crystal Palace, which burned down in the 1930s. The park is populated with Victorian dinosaur sculptures, which are extremely anatomically incorrect. Hire yourself a pedalo and you’ll be able to admire the beasts which inhabit the shores of the lake from a brand new angle.
www.crystalpalaceparktrust.org
Spitalfields City Farm
A welcoming and brilliantly maintained urban farm, complete with cute animals, just off Brick Lane in east London. You can get a little taste of the countryside in the East End at Spitalfields City Farm. Friendly residents up for a pat include Bayleaf the donkey and a lovable pair of hairy hogs. The farm shop sells homegrown produce like freshly laid eggs, and the range of vegetables grown is remarkable for the location.
www.spitalfieldscityfarm.org
